Three arrested with foreign cigarettes

A team of Police officers from the Wattala Police station acting on information about a distribution network of illegal foreign cigarettes, arrested three suspects along with a stock of cigarettes worth more than Rs.4.2 million.

Wattala Police said that a shop was raided in the Bangalawatte area on March 29 and 11 boxes containing 20 cigarettes each which had been illegally brought into the country were discovered. The Police arrested a 27-year-old suspect, a resident of Nanu-Oya, who was an employee of the shop, along with the stock of cigarettes. Based on information revealed by the suspect during questioning, the Police arrested a businessman along with 620 cigarettes at Dutugemunu Mawatha in Peliyagoda. When the police carried out a raid on Tesmuskeen Church Lane, Colombo 12 on information revealed by the businessman during questioning, a 57-year-old man was arrested with 42,200 cigarettes brought into Sri Lanka illegally. Police said that further investigations are underway, regarding the suspects and several more people related to this network are to be arrested. The suspects were scheduled to be produced before the Wattala Magistrate’s Court.

According to the directions of Wattala Police Station Chief Inspector Anura Gunawardena, Sub-Inspector Pramoda, Police Sergeant Dasanayake, Police Constables Anuruddha and Chethana of the Criminal Investigation Division are conducting further investigations.